Attack remembered

I was appalled this morning when I opened the Union-Tribune expecting to see a tribute to our military commemorating the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Instead there was a picture of two ladies that had absolutely no connection with the real Pearl Harbor (“Never forgotten,” Dec. 7). Nothing else on Page One even alluded to the 70th anniversary. Buried on Page A11 was a profile of a hero of Pearl Harbor whose story and picture should have been on Page One.

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy.

I lived in Vallejo on that day in infamy and I remember very well the announcement on the radio. I saw firsthand the impact it had on our Navy men and women stationed at the Mare Island Naval Base there.

In 1960-61, I worked at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash., for Lt. Col. Kermit Tyler, the officer, then a brand-new second lieutenant, who got the blame for telling the radio crew to wait when they reported unidentified planes on the radar [on Dec. 7, 1941]. Colonel Tyler died in San Diego [in January 2010] still bearing the scars from that day.

The 70th anniversary is a major anniversary and it should have been celebrated with military heroes and not downplayed by a story of two women who had absolutely nothing to do with the war. – Peggy Mayes, El Cajon

Many thanks to former San Diego mayor/former California governor Pete Wilson for his column on Pearl Harbor Day and the National World War II Museum in New Orleans (“Anniversary of infamy,” Opinion, Dec. 7).

My husband and I made our second visit to this wonderful museum in October. Our own memories of the day when we heard news of the attack on Pearl Harbor came to mind during our visit to the museum. The exhibits, with their black-and-white photos of weary GIs and the video booths where civilians and military share their touching memory pieces, are fleshed out by the sight of other visitors, many of whom are World War II veterans. The museum is both sobering and uplifting.

Governor Wilson invites others to travel to New Orleans to see the National World War II Museum. Isn’t it time for San Diego to erect its own World War II Museum while there are still some of us who remember how San Diego helped to bring about an end to that horrific era? – Regina Morin, Ocean Beach

Victims pay costs

In response to “Victim to pay spousal support to attacker” (Dec. 7): In Afghanistan a woman has to marry her rapist in order to get out of prison for having been raped. In San Diego a woman has to pay her rapist spousal support and attorney fees in order to be divorced from him. Remember the old Virginia Slims commercial: “You’ve come a long way, baby … .” – Alice Lowe, San Diego

Students justified

In response to “Students ‘reclaim’ closed UCSD library” (Local, Dec. 6): When UC San Diego students reclaimed their library, closed by the university “in response to steep cuts in state funding”, Senior Vice Chancellor Suresh Subramani suggests that, “A good deal of their anger should be directed at the state … .”

The state has indeed made steep cuts but it is the Board of Regents and the chancellors of the University of California system that are spending the money for administrative pay increases instead of the education of the students. I think the anger directed at the UC administrators is completely justified. – Jim Lawler, Poway

No doom in June

I appreciate Elaine Bradbury’s frank, if unwitting, admission that the pension reform ballot measure is scheduled for the June primary election as a device to circumvent the will of the voters (Letters, Dec. 7). She opines that moving the vote from June to November “would put the measure in jeopardy.”

Why would this be likely? In a June vote, the reduced number of voters always occurring in a primary election will be more Republican and more conservative than the broader November electorate because there is a spirited primary battle in the GOP, but none among Democrats. Holding the vote in November would have resulted in more voters expressing their views; at least that’s what the measure’s advocates believe, and they surely don’t want that.

The solution is for all voters, whether otherwise interested in the candidate choices or not, to vote in June, at least on the pension reform initiative. – David Cohen, Hillcrest

I watched the pension reform debate on TV and I found San Diego Councilwoman Marti Emerald’s arguments – that the June time frame was less democratic and that people were traveling with family at that time – to be bogus. Anyone can vote at either the June or November election; it’s their decision.

Also, anyone can use an absentee ballot. I am a permanent absentee ballot holder because I like time to reflect in my own home, not because I’m traveling.

Also, she claimed it would cost lots more money for the June ballot. However, if it passes at the earlier time, more money would be saved, not less. – Jan Bourgeois, San Diego